UVB Bulb?

[thursdayeveryday]

So I bought Thursday his very own UVB light... in a bulb form. It was chepaer to buy this bulb and use my other dome lamp than to buy a strip light and the strip light bulb. So is it ok? He seems to be very happy with it... I hope I didn't waste $23.

heres a pic:


and heres the description from Petsmart.com

This super-efficient, 20 watt lamp offers the same output as 75 watts of incandescent lighting. It provides basking reptiles with purified, full-spectrum daylight, as well as optimal amounts of the UVB and UVA ultraviolet rays. The UVB rays are essential in helping your reptile process calcium for bone growth, while the UVA rays are psychologically beneficial. This lamp can be used with any ESU reptile heat or light dome (sold separately).

[prism_wolf]

I hope I didn't waste $23.

Yup...you wasted $23... .

The problem with the coil lamps is that the UVB emissions are only at their best within about 4-6 inches from the ig. This is way too close and can cause breakage and injury. The other problem is that even IF it had good UVB readings...the bulb is so small it covers very little body surface. An iguana uses it's whole body to soak in the emissions much of the time.

Not all bulbs are created equal.You need no less than two 4'
flourescent UVB tubes for an iguana over 1 year old. Since the strongest amount of UVB
comes from the center of the tube and weakens quite a bit at the ends...the longer the
tube is you get, the better the coverage. The brands to go with:
Reptisun 5.0 or 10.0
Iguana Light 5.0
Exoterra 8.0
Arcadia 5.0 (UK)

...or:
Mega Ray EB (external ballast)
www.reptileuv.com

Many of these can be purchased at www.reptiledirect.com for a more reasonable price
than the pet stores. They often have sales where you can get them for about $14 a piece.

[thursdayeveryday]

I had a bad feeling about it sigh... his real owner does have a bulb but we have no fixture... where can a i get cheap fictures from?

[thursdayeveryday]

I am definatley low on money now... how long can he use this one? I should have money by Monday

[prism_wolf]

Monday will be fine. As long as you get it not much later. If the weather nice enough you can also get him outside for about 20 mins for his entire day's worth of UVB. If the temps are above 75 then go for it.

As far as where you can get the fixture...Lowe's, Home Depot or some other place like it. Don't get the cheapo Wal-Mart brands. There is a difference in the ballasts used to keep the tubes lit. The $20 ones from the places I mentioned do great.

Go here for more reading... ;D.
www.uvguide.co.uk/index.htm

[thursdayeveryday]

Unfortunatley the temperature right now is 40 (but it says it feels like 32 and I agree). However its much warmer than yesterday, when it snowed 2 inches. As for lowes and such... where can I get the cheapest good one? I would order online but I do actually not have a credit card. My friend has a 14" bulb but we have never seen any 14" hoods which is a problem.

[thursdayeveryday]

And I should probably remind you that he is in a 10 gallon tank until he becomes mine in May. So the lights sit ontop of the screen top

[IguanaKing]

Hi, Manda.

Have a look at this thread, tesa.proboards24.com/index.cgi?board=light&action=display&thread=1130006775

I have the model number, price, and where I got my 4' lighting fixture in the first post. The UVB light mentioned in that thread is proving to be an excellent lamp, but don't use it in your situation. In order to safely use the Mystic, your iguana cannot get closer than 10"...any closer than that and the UVB is at dangerous levels. So, stick with one of the lamps Prism_Wolf recommended until you have your bigger cage set up. Since you have him in that 10 gallon, be very careful with the MegaRay if you decide to get one, it is also a little too powerful for your current situation.

[Merlin]

thursdayeveryday said:

And I should probably remind you that he is in a 10 gallon tank until he becomes mine in May. So the lights sit ontop of the screen top

If you have to buy the stuff anyway you might as well buy the 4ft and rig a support till you get the bigger cage.
No sense wasting any more of you hard earned bucks.
And as strange as it sounds the 4ft fixtures are generally much cheaper than the shorter ones.

[thursdayeveryday]

One problem... I don't have any way to rig something to hang it on. I am in a dorm and I have him there illegaly and soon he will be back with my friend in her dorm (still against teh rules)

[george]

I know you said you can not rig a fixture but I agree that you should go ahead and buy a larger fixture now instead of spending more money later.

As for pricing.. I just purchased a 3ft. 2 bulb fixture from home depot for $23.00. (keep in mind you do have to wire this yourself. It is easy though. you can buy a cord with a plug already on the end of it for about $6.00 (also at home depot). all you have to do is connect three wires (they are color coded) and you are ready to go.

The bulbs are what is pricey. I was able to get the bulbs (4 of them) from petguys.com for 15.79 each. I also ordered 6 clamp lamp fixtures and a bunch of other items and shipping was only $24.00 total. The bulbs were packaged very well but the other items could have been packaged better. The price of $15.79 each for the bulbs was at least $5 cheaper than any other on-line store I found and over $15.00 cheaper than my local superpetz.

BTW- the bulbs are zoomed iguana light 5.0 36"

the price is probably cheaper for the 4 ft fixture but I know how tough it can be to find the space.

good luck!!